Lamia
by Kiera27
Summary: A simple potion, a not so simple explosion, sometimes it just doesn't pay to be Harry James Potter. Creature fic. Slash. Harry/Severus/?maybe. Rating just in case.
1. A Normal Day in Potions Gone Wrong

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the basic plot line was an adoption._**

_**Dreamwind on aff . net put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think.**_

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The day was not going well so far. Not only did they have potions first thing in the morning, but they were paired up for the potion project by a rather irritated Snape. This left Hermione and I working on the rather complicated potion, which neither one of us had a problem with of course. No, the problem was that Ron and Pansy Parkinson were paired up and they looked to be spending more time flirting with each other then they were on the potion, in fact it looked like they had forgotten that they even had a potion to work on. This seemed to infuriate Hermione to no end, she had spent the majority of the class sending dark glares in their direction, not that they seemed to notice.

I glanced at the potion and then the book that Hermione had pulled over to herself at the beginning of class. "Mione, what are the instructions for the snake heart?" She didn't even seemed to hear me, she just kept staring at Ron, the potion was almost finished and I actually wanted to get a passing grade for this class. "Mione, I need to know how to prepare the snake heart before I add it to the potion."

Hermione swung around and aimed her glare at me before she grabbed the snake heart from the table. "I don't care about the stupid snake heart!" I watched in slow motion as she almost growled and threw the snake heart into the potion before her eyes widened as the potion gave out an ominous hiss. I hardly had time to think as I shoved her out of the way and let out a blood curdling scream as the potion exploded and covered me from head to toe. It ate through my clothes and scalded my skin, I had never been in so much pain, and I could barely hear the panic that had erupted as I slipped into unconsciousness gratefully.

"Har…c…he…e?"

"P…ss…r…nap….som…e…g…"

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When I next opened my eyes I closed them immediately at the sudden glare of white, I was definitely in the Hospital Wing. I let out a groan as I felt my head being lifted and a cool potion bottle was put to my lips and gently tilted. As I swallowed the potion I felt some of the pain in my head and body recede and I drifted off as Poppy shuffled to a bed further down the line where another person was just now waking up with a groan, I wonder if they were hit by the potion as well.

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The next time I awoke the Hospital Wing wasn't nearly as bright, it was probably nearing nightfall. I looked around quickly to see if Poppy was around, I was really getting hungry; I wonder how long it's been since I ate. I don't even know how long I've been here. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up only to realize that I no longer had legs! Instead of legs my body was being held upright by a long, sleek tail, it looked like the tail of the ballisk in second year, only smaller of course. I felt the scream rip itself from my throat before I could stop it.

Poppy shot out of her office with ruffled hair and a wild look about her eyes. "Mr. Potter, get back into that bed this instant!" I got back into the bed, finding it surprisingly easy to swing my tail back onto the mattress. "You need to keep quiet, its not even breakfast time yet and the other patient needs his sleep."

I guess that makes it morning and not nightfall, he had been here at least a day then. "Who is the other patient, were they hit with the same potion? What happened to me, why do I have a tail?" The questions poured out of me without a pause, though I did remember to keep my voice low.

Poppy glanced nervously over at the partitioned bed a little ways down toward the windows; I could vaguely make out soft breathing. "Well, the potion you were making is supposed to give the person that ingests it the abilities of their animagus form for an hour, but with the addition of an entire snake heart instead of a sliver caused the potion to mutate. Instead of drawing forth the abilities of your animagus form it seems to have merged you with the essence of a snake." She seemed to be trying very hard not to stare at my tail. "You are now a Lamia, a human-snake hybrid."

I knew that I would probably break down as soon as she left but I had a more important matter on my mind. "Who else got hit with the potion, and did the same thing happen to them?"

Poppy started to wring her hands and I felt the nervousness coil in the pit of my stomach, what if they were really hurt? "Fortunately the other students were able to get far enough away from the blast but Professor Snape was trying to get to you and was hit with the same potion. He was affected to a much larger extent, instead of transforming into a Lamia he was changed into a Naga, we don't really have any information on the differences but he is far more snake-like." She looked to where Snape was obviously laying and a look of shame passed over her face. "The only time that he woke up he was rather violent as he tried to make his way toward the doors so we were forced to sedate him and have been keeping him under until we can find a way to fix this."

As she scuttled back to her office, I sat on the bed almost in shock, they had Professor Snape sedated! If anyone in this castle was going to find a way to turn them back into what they were before it was Snape, he was the best Potion Master in the world; everyone had to admit at least that much. I looked toward the Professor's bed and slipped into deep thought, he probably would have had a stroke if he knew I was even capably of it.

I needed to get him out of here, it was likely that the situation had just overwhelmed him when he woke up and he reacted, after all it wasn't everyday that you woke up and found out that you aren't human anymore. The only reason I wasn't freaking out is that I'm getting pretty used to always being the butt of Fate's never-ending gag reel. I slithered off the bed, that just sounds so wrong, and slid over to the partition and glanced at Poppy's closed office door before slipping through them to be met with the most enthralling sight.

Professor Snape was definitely not human anymore, he didn't even look close. His entire body was covered in large ebony scales that seemed to absorb the light around them, his tail was twice as thick and long as mine and ended up draping off the side of the bed, his hands were curved and shaped like an eagle's claw with blood red talons as fingers, and his chest had to be at least twice as broad as it had been before. His face didn't seem to be too awfully different from what it had been, but there was a barely noticeable dusting of scales across a no longer crooked aquiline nose. He was breathing rather shallowly until I got a little closer, then he breathing sped up and he started to move around in his sleep. He stopped as I backed off a bit and went back to sleeping peacefully, which bore watching.

I slide out of the little enclosure and made my way toward the bathroom; I want to know what the difference between the two of us really is. Why am I a Lamia and he's a Naga, and why are they so scared of him?

I closed my eyes as I moved in front of the mirror, and opened them when I knew I was totally in front of it. I had to bit my lip to keep from yelling in shock, this couldn't be me. My scales were white, though they sparkled in every color when the light hit them; I stared at them for several moments before I snapped myself out of it. My top half was almost exactly like it was before but it looked like I had lost half of the muscle mass that I managed to build, I almost felt like crying but I didn't feel any weaker, in fact I felt stronger then I had ever been. My hard earned tan was gone too, leaving my skin a pearly white that I knew Lavender would kill for. I lifted one of my hands closer to my face to discover that my nails were now small talons similar to Snape's; they were even the same color though a lot smaller. My eyes were the small emerald which I was grateful for though they were slit in the middle like a snake's, which wasn't surprising all things considered, though the fixed eyesight, I hadn't even noticed that I didn't have my glasses on, was a nice surprise. The girly plump red lips were a little unnerving to be honest. My hair was still untamable, only now it fell in waves to where my knees would have been had I still had them. Overall the changes were shocking but nothing that I could not live with if I had to, but if I could get Snape out of here I may not have to.

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	2. Waking of the Snake and a World of Views

**Dreamwind put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

_**In classical mythology a Lamia is a blood-sucking witch who takes the form of a serpent to threaten children.**_

**_In Indian mythology a Naga is a creature that is part-human and part-cobra in appearance and is associated with water. _****_It is sometimes worshipped by women who want children. No gender is specified._**

**_Thought I would clear that up, those are direct quotes from the Microsoft Word Dictionary and I do not own them, obviously._**

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I knew that trying anything now would probably be a horrible idea; no doubt Dumbledore would be down soon to see me and tell me that everything was going to be just peachy. How everything was going to be alright when the one man that could fix it was technically in a magically induced coma was beyond him. I slipped back into the bed that Poppy had jokingly put a plaque with his name on and tried to get comfortable, which was surprisingly easy all things considered. Shortly after I lay down I must have fallen asleep as the next time I opened my eyes it looked to be around noon and Dumbledore was standing with Poppy next to her office. They were talking in quiet voices, but I could easily hear them from my bed, probably a side effect of my shiny new self.

Dumbledore was twinkling as per usual as Poppy seemed about ready to hit him. "How are we going to fix this Albus? The only person in the castle that has the knowledge to reverse this safely became violent the moment he woke up!" She looked to be about ready to pull her hair out. "The only other people that can help are the Potion Masters that the Ministry employs and we can't bring them into the castle."

Dumbledore started to stroke his beard in thought with the twinkle as bright as ever. "Don't worry my dear, I'm sure that we will be able to fix this little problem, it will simply require a little more time then Severus would have taken, I have already given Ms. Granger free reign to attempt to construct an antidote, I'm sure she will succeed."

Poppy looked at him like he was out of his mind, which everyone assumed was the case, especially after seeing his wardrobe. "Albus, Ms. Granger may be one of the smartest witches of her year when it comes to what you can learn from a book but she has no experience in reversing a potion without instructions. She won't even be able to find research material on the potion as Severus was the one to invent it in the first place. We can not leave the humanity of Harry Potter and Severus Snape to a child who only knows how to memorize things out of a book; she is not equipped to come up with new knowledge. I refuse to leave their fate in her hands!"

Dumbledore seemed to be taken aback by the fire in Poppy's eyes and her rather harsh words about Hermione, she is right though, Hermione never thinks outside of the box. "Now Poppy, there is no reason to be so harsh. Ms. Granger is one of the brightest muggleborn students we have."

He probably would have continued, but Poppy stepped closer to him until she was inches away from his face, though she had to stand on the tips of her toes to see eye to eye. "She is a child that thinks that the sun shines out of your behind and is willing to do whatever you ask her to." Her face was slowly turning red as her anger seemed to be getting the best of her. "She is the reason that two of my favorite people are snake hybrids, one became so violent when he woke up that he has to be constantly sedated! You just want to keep them this way because you think that it will give you an advantage against the Ministry and the Dark Lord! You need to stop seeing everything as a move on a chessboard and see that your actions have serious consequences for everyone around you."

Dumbledore seemed to deflate a little bit before he seemed to gather his wits. "Poppy, surely you understand that something like this could be the tipping point between victory and defeat, everything I do is for the greater good."

I could tell that that was the worst thing that he could have said as Poppy went from red to white in an instant. "You old fool! I will not listen to such stupidity within my infirmary, you will leave this instance and you will not reenter. If you injure yourself in any way you can take yourself to St. Mungos!"

It was rather amusing to see the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore almost running out of the infirmary with Poppy following with her drawn wand, she then proceed to leave the infirmary after casting a few wards on the door, probably to keep the old man out.

After I was sure that she wasn't going to walk right back in, I slid out of the bed and set about making my way toward where Snape was still in his induced sleep. I needed to wake him up, to be perfectly honest, I don't really care about turning back into a human but he didn't deserve to be treated like this. They probably didn't even wonder about why he was being violent before they decided to put him under, there had to be a reason. Just like the last time I had neared, Snape became more and more agitated the closer I got to him. This time I got a lot closer and found that he was hissing slightly under his breath, it was definitely Parseltongue, though it was hard to make out. "Need…Want…Have…Mine…" It sounded like he was in pain and I instinctually found myself leaning over him and I laid my hand on the top of his arm and he went stock still before his movement became almost violent before his eyes shot open and I found myself looking into endless onyx eyes with no whites. He stared for one seemingly endless moment before he launched himself at me, knocking me to the ground and covering my form with his own, excited hisses filling my ears.

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**Dumbledore's POV**

Poppy just doesn't understand how important this could be to the war effort, she'll understand later. This could be the power that Harry will need to win against Tom, Lamia are known to be quite powerful and the boy is now quite attractive as well. Tom will likely want such a creature at his side which will bond both of their souls together, meaning that they could simply take the boy out and Tom would follow. The sacrifice of Harry would end the war in one swoop. It was a shame that the boy would have to die but it was for the greater good, just like everything I have done. Now all I need to do is encourage my little muggleborn student to keep scouring the books for the answers, she wouldn't find anything but it made it look like I am trying to solve the problem. It's a shame that Snape was locked in a deep sleep but the very first thing he had tried to do was fight his way to Harry, most likely in the attempt to mate. The two would be very compatible if they only stopped fighting, but if they mated his plans were ruined. I'm only glad that I was the only one that realized what he was trying to accomplish. I popped a Lemon Drop into my mouth and hummed one of the songs that I had heard the students singing as I continued on my way to further my plans and then take a nice long bubble bath.

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**Poppy's POV**

I will not sit back and watch that foolish old man put my two favorite people in danger just to further his pathetic idea of the greater good! I stormed out of the castle scaring several students that were coming out of the Great Hall, but I was far beyond caring. If Albus was going to play things this way then it was time to play my own ace, those two are like sons to me and I will not see them hurt if there is even one thing that I could do to put a stop to it. I barely slowed down at the edge of the wards as I apparated to the one place that I never thought that I would see again. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind the intrusion and was willing to make a compromise for an old friend.

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**Hermione's POV**

I searched the potion books in front of me almost frantically; I had to find the reversal to the botched potion. Dumbledore wanted me to be the one to fix this and I am not going to let one of the greatest wizards of all time down, and if I manage this I will be respected as more then a know it all muggleborn friend of the savior. I do consider Harry as a friend but he was also one of the only reasons that anyone paid attention to me, without him no one would give me a second glance. If I do this though I would be famous in my own right, not just being the brains of the Golden Trio. I jumped in fright when Dumbledore walked into the library with a smile on his face as he asked how everything was going. I was almost ashamed to admit that I hadn't really made even a little headway since he had asked me to start but he assured me that I was doing just fine and that he had faith that I would be able to solve it. I felt lightheaded; one of the greatest wizards had faith in me. I floated on cloud nine for the rest of the day.

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I felt Snape's scales rubbing against mine as he slithered back and forth; it was honestly making me nervous, especially as his nonsense hisses got louder. "Professor, please let me up. We need to talk, something is very wrong here."

"Not wrong, right." He stopped and looked me in the eyes with a very somber look. He looked like he was trying to convince me of something though I wasn't quite sure what that happened to be.

"Whatever you want can wait, we need to talk. There's a problem." He looked startled for a moment before his eyes lightened and he shot off of me with a startled look on his face.

"What the hell is going on here, Potter?!" Ah, the Severus Snape that I know and love. It only took a moment for him to notice the changes in me and to assess himself. "What did you do?"

I felt the anger take control of me. "ME?! Why do you think that this is my fault?!" I could see that he wanted to interrupt, but I wasn't going to give him the chance. "If you had let us pick our own partners Hermione wouldn't have flown off the handle and botched the potion by throwing the whole snake heart directly into the stupid potion and we wouldn't be snakes! I shouldn't have even bothered waking you up and let them keep you sedated!"

Snape paled three shades past what I thought was possible. "They were keeping me sedated?"

I did feel a little bad for him but really, he just had to make everything my fault. I actually made the potion correctly until Hermione threw her little fit. "Yeah, Poppy said that the first time that you woke up you became rather violent and they were forced to put you under. Poppy was furious at Dumbledore for refusing to find a way to wake you up. He actually wants to leave our fates in Hermione's hands, and though the girl is smart, she only knows what you can find in a book."

Snape began to do the snake form of pacing from one end of the Infirmary to the other. He looked to be deep in thought so I sat down on my bed and waited for him to finish with whatever he was thinking.

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**Snape's POV**

'This is not good.' I have a feeling that I know exactly why I was sedated and why that old coot wanted to keep me that way. I have always found Harry to be an attractive child and he has only gotten more beautiful over the years, but now I could feel the pull from somewhere deep inside my magic to bind him to me for the rest of our lives. The potion seems to have changed us into our closest snake hybrid counterpart. The boy was most definitely a Lamia, which were supposed to all be female which gave away the fact that the boy was submissive, which is not helping my state of mind. I appear to be a Naga, which come in both genders, mainly dominant. I must have been trying to get to the boy in a mating frenzy, that sounds so wrong, and when Dumbledore realized what was happening he sedated me to keep the boy unmated, but why?

The answer hit me like a bus; he wanted to mate the boy off to the Dark Lord. It is no secret that the Dark Lord has been looking for someone to produce an heir, but has yet to find anyone that he finds worthy. Lamia are known to be beautiful and very fertile and the snake aspect was a plus for a man obsessed with snakes. The part that Dumbledore wouldn't know was that the Dark Lord had already set his sights on Harry as a Consort; he had reanalyzed the part of the prophecy he had and found that binding the boy to him would negate it entirely. He also found the boy to be fiery and beautiful; he had been planning to lure the boy out during this year's attack.

Thinking about the Dark Lord and Harry made jealousy, possessiveness and intrigue roll through me, how strange. I had to shake myself to get back on track, I need to think of a way out of this, we need to get out before whatever Dumbledore is planning bares fruit.

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	3. Poppy's Plan and Another Snake

Dreamwind put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Sorry for the wait, my internet went AWOL and I don't work well when frustrated. Things will start getting more interesting after this chapter.**

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**Poppy's POV**

"I never thought that you of all people would show up here to ask me of all people for help." A snake like hiss issued from the well dressed man leaning against the mantle of his ornate fireplace. "What can I do for you Poppy?"

"Dumbledore has gone entirely too far. There was an accident in Potions and both Severus and Harry were hit with a botched Animus Potion." I took note of his sudden interest at the mention of who was involved, he actually seemed concerned. "The potion had an entire snake heart thrown into it by that Hermione chit. Severus was turned into a Naga while Harry ended up as a Lamia, I'm not really sure why they were not changed into the same thing but when Severus awoke he immediately became violent and we had to sedate him to keep him from hurting anyone. When I suggested that we find a way to wake him up and keep him calm, Albus flat out refused to consider it. He actually wants to leave the task of figuring out the reversal for the potion to the one that caused this mess in the first place." I began to pace as my temper started to flare. "I just can't believe the gull of that man! I sealed the Infirmary to keep everyone out so their condition will stay secret, Dumbledore can deal with any minor injuries that occur. I came here to see if you would help me get them out of the school and as far away from that manipulative old fart as possible."

He tilted his head to the side and seemed to analyze my expression for a moment. "Why should I help the one person in the world that is capable of killing me?" I felt my anger start to bubble but he continued on. "I am not saying that I will not help, the boy is rather interesting and his new condition is rather promising, even with Severus added to the equation." He laughed rather sinisterly, something that he had perfected in our school years. "I'll give you a portkey to give to them when you get back, it will take them straight to this manor and I will give you my oath that I will not harm either of them while they are here."

I just knew that I was missing something, but this is really the only option. "Alright Tom, do you want me to explain everything to Harry before I send them. Severus should still be out and I doubt that you want to be on the business end of a Lamia's claws."

His smile almost made him look human. "Yes, it would certainly be unfortunate if that were to occur though I doubt that even your strongest sedative could keep a full grown Naga out for very long with a Lamia so close by. He might even already be awake so you should be on your way." He handed me one of the snake figurines off of the mantle after he placed an untraceable portkey charm on it. "The activation word is hybrid in Parseltongue."

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**Harry's POV**

I watched as Snape continued to slither from one end of the Infirmary to the other without showing any signs of stopping and I just couldn't take it anymore. "Professor, please sit down. Your pacing is starting to make me dizzy. There is nothing that we can really do until Poppy gets back from wherever she went. She is probably trying to find a way to get us out of here anyway." I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh as he finally came to a stop to stare at me.

My relief was rather short lived as he stared intensely for a moment before slowly sliding closer, as if afraid that I would bolt, which was a possibility as he's starting to weird me out a bit. "Professor, are you alright?" He ignored my question entirely as he came to a stop only a couple of inches away from me, I could feel his body heat radiating off of him. I had to tilt my head back to look into his face and I found him tracing my features with his eyes and it was then I realized that his eyes were back to the bottomless pools that they had been the moment he woke up. I started to back up when one of his arms shot out and wrapped around my waist before pulling me against him and keeping me there.

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**Snape's POV**

The entire situation was maddening; I felt the intense urge to strangle that Granger chit. She managed to cause more havoc in one class then the Longbottom boy has done since he first stepped into my classroom. I spent several minutes trying to come up with a way to get out of this hellhole but the chances were not good, they were a little conspicuous. I must have been making my thirtieth pass when Harry's voice broke through my concentration. I made the mistake of looking at him, which I had been studiously avoiding and felt my body flush. He was coiled near one of the Infirmary beds with a small flush across his cheeks as he subconsciously nibbled on his lower lip. I could feel my new creature side roaring to be let out to claim him and I couldn't find any reason to fight it, the boy had always captivated me. His personality, so different from his father, caught my attention when he was younger though I still had my part to play and as he aged he became more and more beautiful by the year. I felt myself losing control and I let go. I almost groaned as I pulled the boy against me and his scales slide against my own, the friction sent shivers down my spine. His eyes were wide and confused as they met mine and I felt myself bending slightly to taste his plump red lips when the door burst open and my world went black, someone was going to pay when I next woke up.

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**Harry's POV**

I startled as the doors burst open and a harried looking Poppy flew into the room with wide eyes. She quickly surveyed the room before stunning Snape, causing his to fall to the floor unconscious, and since he still had his arms around me he took me down with him. Poppy helped me wiggle my way, which was quite embarrassing for the both of us, out of his arms and back into an upright position. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?"

I couldn't help but stare in fascination for a moment; I had never seen her look so unhinged. "No he wasn't even trying to hurt me; he was just staring at me. Where did you go?"

Poppy spared a brief glance at Snape before pulling a small silver snake figurine out of her pocket and presenting it to me with a mildly accomplished look crossing her features reminding me of Luna after she managed to outwit Hermione about one of her creatures. "I went to seek help from a very old friend I went to school with. He agreed to help you both as well as promising to cause no harm to either of you. He gave me this portkey to take you to his manor; the password is 'hybrid' in Parseltongue."

I had a feeling that my eyes resembled saucers at this point; there was only one wizard in the world that would give someone a portkey with a Parseltongue password. "You went to school with Voldemort?"

She threw her head back and laughed, it took several minutes for her to calm down. "Out of all the things you could ask about the most important one to you is that I went to school with Tom Riddle."

I felt the blush crawling up my neck. "Well, Voldemort is seventy years old and I thought that you were maybe forty at the very most. It just caught me a little off guard."

The smile that lit up her face was worth my embarrassment. "Witches and wizards age fairly slowly because of the magic that flows through our veins, even Tom was able to restore his body to its origin form and looks no older then Snape. The more magic that a person has the slower their bodies age. Dumbledore is well over a hundred and fifty years old." She seemed to shake herself. "We really don't have time to make small talk, Dumbledore is not likely to leave things the way they are for very long before he attempts to gain control over this new form of yours. You need to take this portkey and activate it while holding some part of Severus and you must not let go. Tom may be a Dark Lord, but in this case he is the lesser of two evils. I'll stay here, as far as Dumbledore will know Severus managed to wake up, which is true, and when I tried to subdue him he overpowered me and managed to activate a hidden portkey which whisked the two of you away. Most of it is the truth so it shouldn't be too hard to keep the old man satisfied, now go."

I wound myself as tightly as I could around Snape, I didn't want to lose him after all, and activated the portkey. My stomach lurched as the familiar sensation of a hook behind my navel was felt before my senses were assaulted by the tornado of colors. I made sure that my hold on Snape never loosened even when we both hit the floor of what was obviously Voldemort's manor and I lost consciousness gratefully, Lamia were not meant to travel by portkey.

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**Voldemort's POV**

I felt a surge of rage when the intertwined forms landed on my study floor; my only consolation was that they were both completely unconscious. I wasted no time in separating them and making sure that nothing had happened to Harry that would shorten Severus' life. I felt no small amount of pleasure when I found no claiming mark on him, I would not have my plans completely ruined by a creature's instincts, not that I would be completely against sharing him but no one would claim him before me. I regretted my actions to the boy, if only I had seen the possibilities that Halloween night, but I had been blinded by rage over a prophecy that I did not know the entirety of. The boy was powerful and beautiful even as an infant and he had felt no fear at being on the other side of my wand.

Perhaps that was why the boy enthralled me so, even the bravest of Aurors felt a surge of fear when facing me and a small child had been completely unfazed even after watching his mother fall. Every year that I faced the boy there was no fear, only the determination to survive. It wasn't long after I was revived that I had devoted myself to finding a way to circumvent the prophecy and even went so far as restoring my body to retrieve the prophecy myself. The only thing that I had not been able to restore was my natural eye color, but I am rather fond of the red anyway.

It took very little time to place each of the new snake hybrids into separate rooms; I would not have Severus waking up in a mating haze around my Harry. The only thing that I had to do now was wait for them to wake up and start weaving my plan. Hopefully the manor would soon be filled with dozens of green eyed children and the world would be ours.

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	4. The Awakening and a Decision to Make

**_Dreamwind put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think._**

**Diclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**I do want to clear some things up, this story will probably end up as a threesome, I really can't see a half-snake Harry without Voldemort.**

**The counter for a stunner is Enervate, which just translates to wake up, I don't believe that a spell like that would be permanent. I also believe that a wizard's magic would instinctually fight off any spell placed on them given enough time and power barring the ones like Crucio and Avada Kadavra.**

**Keep in mind that while Harry might seem to be taking things a little too well, Snape isn't the only one that is being influenced by his instincts, and it may not last.**

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**Poppy's POV**

I had never been more amused in my life. It took every ounce of control that I possessed to keep the worried look on my face as I watched the man that was considered one of the greatest wizards alive come apart at the seams. He paced rapidly as he talked to himself, he probably had no idea that he was spilling his secrets as people always underestimated a healer's hearing. "This simply cannot be happening; all of my carefully laid plans are going up in smoke. If that portkey takes them to Voldemort before I have the chance to place that curse on the boy everything will be for naught, especially if they form a triad. Their combined powers would be more then enough to crush the Ministry. I need to find a way to get to the boy soon, hopefully the boy's hatred for the man that killed his parents will keep him from giving into his instincts to bond to the strongest male that offers. Perhaps I can use the boy's owl to transport a portkey."

Albus twirled around to face me and I made sure that I gave nothing away to his twinkling blue eyes. "It is truly horrible that Severus managed to leave the school with Harry but you mustn't fret, it wasn't your fault. I may have an idea on how to retrieve him so you must be ready to treat him just in case." He almost floated out of the Infirmary to carry out his new little plot, I wonder if he thinks that Tom is actually dumb enough to allow any foreign portkey to enter his property. Maybe the man truly is going senile.

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**Hedwig POV**

I watched the smelly old man as he gleefully attached the letter to my leg despite the fact that I had already bitten him four times. "Now, make sure that you take this straight to your master so that he gets brought back here to be the little hero." He grabbed me rather roughly under the wings and flung me out of the window with very little fanfare, what a prick!

If he actually thought that I was going to force my Harry to come back to this hellhole he had another thing coming, my Harry deserves to live his own life. I flew in the general direction that he was in until I knew that I was out of that man's sight before landing on one of the tallest trees in the Forbidden Forest. It took very little effort to bite through the string that attached the letter to my leg; the man's hands were too weak with age to tie it properly. I watched with a strong sense of accomplishment as the letter fell to the ground and with a satisfied hoot I took off to join my Harry.

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**Snape's POV**

I was disorientated when I awoke in a room that I did not recognize, the last thing that I remembered was Harry saying something and a fog covering my mind at the sound of his voice. I took stock of my surroundings and realized that I did know this room, and that was not a comforting thought. This is one of the guest rooms at the Dark Lord's manors. No sooner had I thought this then the door opened to reveal the Dark Lord's restored form in tailored robes with a self satisfied smirk on his face.

He entered the room and leaned against the mantle of the fireplace, which wasn't attached to the floo network. "Well Severus, I'm sure that you can understand my surprise when an old friend of mine showed up to ask me to provide sanctuary for yourself and young Mr. Potter, especially when Poppy told me about your little 'problem'." Poppy was the one that contacted the Dark Lord! "Now though Severus it seems that we have a small problem. You are now a Naga and seem to have chosen Harry as your mate even though you know what my plans for the young hero are. We have two options: you could cede your claim on him," I couldn't quite control the hisses that spewed forth at the very idea, "or we could come to some sort of understanding and share him."

I could practically feel the expression of shock that crossed my face; the Dark Lord did not share. "Normally I would not even consider sharing such a prize with anyone, but you have done much as one of my inner circle and the boy seems to trust you and you would be able to calm him and get him to be more agreeable to the union, I do not want to force the boy." He does have a heart, who knew? "The boy is in the next bedroom and a ward has been placed over his room to make very sure that you do not do anything that you won't live to regret, I may be willing to share but I will be first." He swept from the room with a swirl of his cloak.

I waited several moments after his departure to make very sure that he was not going to come back in before I made my way toward the door that likely attached my room to the boy's, hopefully I would be able to keep him calm though I did not have high hoped of that. The door swung inward without the slightest sound and I found myself memorized by the sprawled form draped across the bed. The light hit his scales in just the right way to make them glisten. I could feel my instincts trying to take me over before an outside power, most likely the wards, clamped down on them and left me with control of my mind and body. I moved slowly to the edge of the bed and placed my hand on his shoulder before giving him a slight shake that had him shooting out of the bed and halfway across the room before he realized who had awoken him and proceed to move back to the bed. "Are you alright Professor? Where are we? What's going on?"

I stopped his questions with a slight glare that had him blushing, hmmm. "I am fine. We are currently in one of the guest bedrooms in the Dark Lord's manor and now we have some things that must be discussed and I would like for you to remain silent while I inform you of our current situation."

I waited for the boy to nod before directing him to a seat in front of the fireplace before taking the one opposite him, it was difficult to sit properly but they both managed. "Several months ago I was able to restore the Dark Lord to his former body as well as restoring his sanity; this caused him to reevaluate his goals and the prophecy that sent him after your family." I could see that he wanted to interrupt but was he stayed his tongue. "He came to the conclusion that if he bonded to you the prophecy would be null and void due to a wording loop hole and changed his focus. He has moved from his previous irrational hatred of you and has developed a good deal of respect and desire for you that is only intensified by your current form." The boy was blushing from his head to his tail, it was an interesting effect. "He is not the only one with that goal in mind." The confusion was adorable. "I have long since overcome any unfounded animosity, I do realize that you are not your father and I have also realized that you are a very desirable young man and our current forms have taken the attraction that I was beginning to develop and magnified it. The Dark Lord saw through me with ease and has proposed that you should be bound to us both. I do know that this is a lot to take in but as the Dark Lord's consort you would be free to do anything you wished after the war within reason and the bond itself would give us all the power needed to win the war. I know that it is a lot to think about, so I will leave you to it." I knew it was more then a little cowardly to just drop that kind of thing on him and run away, but the urge to take him as my own was growing rapidly despite the ward's influence and I needed to get back into my room.

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**Harry's POV**

I watched Snape leave the room with an almost numb feeling, his words still ringing in my head. Voldemort no longer wanted me dead, he wanted me to be his wife and so apparently did Snape. My mind wouldn't stop spinning, I just couldn't believe that the two men I thought hated me wanted something like that. To be perfectly honest I am not really all that against it.

I have always respected Snape, even when he out and out hated me and spent most of his time trying to make my life a living hell. He is the most talented Potion Masters of our time and one of the best duelers I have ever seen. It had started last year though, I had begun to notice that while Snape was not the most handsome of men, he was attractive in his own way and he had a voice that was made for sin, it soothed over the senses. It made it very difficult to sit through each class without giving myself away, but I never would have thought that I had a chance to be with him like that.

There is very little I could say about Voldemort. I could understand why he came after me that Halloween night; it was a war so his actions could not truly be considered evil. He was one of the most powerful men in the world, both in magic and in influence, he would be able to protect me and any children I would have, as would Snape. I also knew that the Wizarding World needed to change, it is slowly being overrun by the irrational fears of the muggleborn's that are coming into it without any knowledge about its inhabitants. All of the magical creature laws were created due to the fears that muggleborns had developed due to their own fairy tales and not the true nature of the creatures themselves. In fact, it was more then likely that if I hadn't ended up with Voldemort and Snape couldn't find a way to reverse the botched potion we would have been just as segregated as Remus without his ability to hide what he was, its hard to hide the fact that you're half snake. It would definitely be a hard decision, I couldn't take it lightly.

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	5. The Decision

Dreamwind put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Sorry for the wait, life has a way of slowing things down.**

**An unrelated question: Anyone know how to clear up an ear that isn't clogged with water, but you still can't hear out of it?**

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**Harry's POV**

Several hours later found me no closer to an answer then I had been before, every angle that I thought of had advantages and disadvantages that were rather hard to ignore.

If I were to only mate with Snape, I would likely have to escape with him to form our own side to the war, or leave the Wizarding World entirely, which had merits of its own, but Voldemort was not the type to let things he wanted simply walk away and disappear like that. The man would likely spend the rest of his life splitting his efforts between taking over the world and finding them, living a normal mated life would be absolutely impossible. I thought briefly about just mating to Voldemort but found the idea without merit, I actually care a great deal for Snape without the snake side, and while I can imagine falling for Voldemort given time I couldn't put Snape out of the picture. Mating to both of them would nullify the problems of the other two options but could he really cope with two very possessive mates that had very little to no sharing skills?

It was at times like this that I really wished that I had been born a normal boy that didn't have to deal with things like this but it seems that I was born under a star of unusual happenings.

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**Voldemort's POV**

I found myself pacing across the floor of my study within moments of leaving Snape's room, filled with anxiety about the future for the first time.

I had realized soon after regenerating fully that I had not been chasing after Harry to see him dead in my somewhat insane moment. Every time that we crossed paths I hesitated at just the right moment to allow the boy to escape without even consciously thinking about it. Even insane I found the boy to be utterly intriguing, his fire and power were like drugs to me and I found myself without the will to resist the pull.

The boy's new form was also a definite advantage to both the war and my interest in heirs. The Lamia form is both physically powerful as well as a magical powerhouse. The scales that littered the form liberally were the equivalent of dragon scales only slightly more resistant to rapid temperature changes, the eyes held similar traits to those of a basilisk that only activated when they were incredibly stressed and their physical strength was on par with that of a vampire. By far the largest bonus of the boy's new form was the ability to bear young. I had almost given up hope that I would find a being worthy of bearing an heir, especially with the rituals of my youth that have left me closer to snake then man, but Harry could now give me as many children as I could want. The desire to sire plenty of children not only to carry on my legacy but also to spoil as I always wished that I had been was hard to deny.

Sharing the boy with Severus would be a very small price to pay to achieve all of my goals, even the ones that I had not been aware of before now.

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**Severus' POV**

I could honestly admit that I was embarrassed with the way that I fled from the boy without truly explaining myself to him but both sides, human and snake, had wanted nothing more then to throw the boy onto the bed and have my wicked way with him and the wards were only set to stop his snake instincts. I don't truly know when I stopped seeing him as the son of James Potter and started to see the real him but he was now the star of many dreams that I would give just about anything to experience in the waking world.

I knew that Harry would likely view the situation from every angle before he made a decision, sometimes I found myself wondering how he managed to get into Gryffindor. Even when he was doing something that sounded reckless, there was a valid and well thought out reason behind it, the only trait that he seemed to lack was self-preservation, he often put the lives of others above his own. I could only hope that he would learn to put himself first and that he would give me a chance to show him my true self, even if I wasn't going to be the only one to do so.

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Several hours later when I had almost given up hope that Harry was going to make his decision today the door that connected our two rooms slowly opened to reveal wide green eyes and long mussed hair that made it extremely hard to keep my thought clean as he slid slowly into the room.

His voice was quiet enough that even with my newly enhanced senses I had to strain slightly to hear him. "I would like to mate to both of you, but I want to get to know the both of you better before we bond, if that's alright."

I was about to answer when a smooth voice came from the door to the hallway. "I would certainly not be averse to getting to know you a little better as long as you truly wish to mate to both of us and are not just trying to choose what you think will make everyone else involved happy."

Harry looked like he had just seen his first ghost as he took the Dark Lord's human form in for a moment before he shook himself slightly and looked at each of us in turn before making sure that we could both see his eyes as he spoke. "I can admit that this is the best option to make both of you happy as well as help end the war but that is not the reason that I chose it. I have had a crush on you professor for almost as long as I have known you, though I wasn't aware of it early on, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel quite a bit of attraction for you Voldemort. You are a very powerful man that is noted as being one of the most intelligent students to ever pass through Hogwarts, your conviction is admirable if somewhat overzealous at times and you have shown that you protect what is your with unfailing dedication. I know that while I could be happy with either of you if given the chance, I feel that you each balance a part of me and I would be happiest with the both of you at my side." He seemed to have used the majority of his courage as he dropped his eyes to stare at the floor as he waited for a response.

"If you are already so convinced that you would be happy with the both of us as mates why do you need to get to know each of us better?" The question came more from my impatient new snake side then the human one that was just thrilled to have a chance though a quick glance at the Dark Lord showed that he was asking himself the same question.

Harry's face flushed a cherry red that traveled all the way down his chest and brought certain parts of my anatomy to attention, through thankfully not enough to leave the sheath in which it now rested. "I've never even been on a date with anyone, I haven't even had my first kiss and I kind of want to experience all the parts of dating before I get mated." He managed to get even redder as he looked toward the door to his room almost as if he wanted to run back in there and hide.

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**Review please.**


	6. One too Many Lemondrops

Dreamwind put this up for adoption, so I'm going to try my hand at it. Let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter.**

**This would be so much easier to update if the plot bunnies would stop ambushing me.**

**This chapter is mainly to show where others stand and exactly what Dumbledore is about in this.**

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**McGonagall's POV**

I knew something was very wrong and I knew that somehow the entire feel of the castle was off in a way that I had never felt before. First I had to comfort many of both the Gryffindors and Slytherins when they ran into my room talking quickly about how both Harry and Severus had been hit with a potion in class and that it was all Hermione's fault. Apparently she had lost her temper and ruined the potion that they had been working on in class and without Severus to run to the Slytherins saw me as the professor to go to, which caused my heart to swell a little. Then after classes were over for the day and I tried to visit them in the Infirmary I was stopped by an overly twinkling Dumbledore that told me that Harry was still unconscious and the Severus had to be sedated and he didn't want anything to disturb either of them. I tried to return later on only to find that the doors had been warded so that no one could get in and I returned to my room to plot a way to see my colleague and my favorite trouble magnet.

When I finally formulated a way to gain entry I went to the Infirmary only to find the doors wide open and a furious Albus storming out with a smug looking Poppy watching him leave. There was no sign of either Severus or Harry in the neatly made beds. When I questioned Poppy about their whereabouts she told me a story about how Severus had woken up and escaped with Harry in a fit of rage and every instinct that I had from my animagus form told me that very little of that story was true but getting anything out of Poppy without her wanting you to know is impossible. I left with no knowledge except that something was very wrong and I had the feeling that it was going to change the world as I knew it.

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**Harry's POV**

After a very uncomfortable staring contest Voldemort told me to go back to my room to rest while he and Severus worked out how to work the 'relationship' out. I was still in a bit of a daze about that, I have two dark wizards that want to be my mate; two wizards that I thought hated me with all of their hearts. Before I made it to my bedroom door Voldemort gave me a book about Lamia that he said would teach me everything that I would need to know, so I curled up in one of the chairs that was situated next to the window and opened it up to the first chapter.

_**Several hours later…**_

The book was amazing it had everything from the first Lamia to the last recorded one with all the information that one would need to live as one. The part that I was happiest to find was the part about how to change forms; apparently Lamia had three forms that they could switch between will very little work. The first and most common one was the one that I am in; a half-snake form that was versatile and allowed for the natural protection of the scales with the ability to cast wizarding magic. The next was a full snake form that greatly resembled the basilisk in appearance and in power. The third was a human form that only carried a small dusting of scales that showed what the person really was. The process was very detailed and I figured that I could probably have in down by the end of the week.

I was almost to the end of the book when I was startled by the sounds of an owl scratching on the window pane and I rushed to open it when I saw that it was my Hedwig. She flew in tiredly and claimed one of the bed posts as her perch before giving an affectionate hoot and falling asleep with her head tucked under her wing. I found myself more then a little stunned that she had not only found me in Voldemort's home but that she was so comfortable with the situation but then again she was a very smart owl. In fact the whole sleep idea sounded wonderful, I've been reading for hours and the bed certainly looks very comfortable.

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**Voldemort's POV**

I watched as Harry slithered back into his room with longing, the boy was absolutely sublime and his transformation made him all the more perfect to stand at my side. After the door closed behind him I allowed my gaze to wonder to the man I would likely end up sharing my little snake with. I was somewhat confused about how they ended up as two separate creatures but it probably has a lot to do with their opposing personalities.

Severus definitely benefited from the potion. His nose was no longer crooked from one to many breaks and while still larger then the normal it was closer to aristocratic then the previous length suggested. The eyes were even darker then they had before which hid the serpentine slits almost completely. His new form boasted dull scales that covered a much broader and more muscular torso and continued to a thick, long tail that most likely had the strength to crush a man's ribs with very little effort.

"I do believe that in the current situation Harry would feel more comfortable if you were the first one to take him on a date of sorts." It took more control to force that out of my mouth then I anticipated but I know that the little one would not feel comfortable with me alone at present. "With the current situation and with the fact that neither you nor Harry can transform you may not go into public, but I'm sure you can find some way to entertain the boy. The only rules are that you will not make any forward advances, it would not do to startle him so early on and you will not say anything to warn him off of a relationship with me or you will come to understand just how powerful I am. Am I understood?" I waited only long enough to witness his swift nod before leaving the room at a swift walk, aristocrats do not run. I had plans to make if I wanted to win Harry over with all that hung between us.

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**Snape's POV**

I could almost feel the smile threaten to cross my face as the Dark Lord took off out of the room like a child that had been forced to apologize, it could almost be considered cute if not for the fact the man would kill anyone that dared to suggest it. I knew that it would take far more effort to win over the boy on his part then mine, but neither of us was in for a truly easy time. The boy would likely make very sure that we were his best options and that we would not harm him or anyone that he considered family before he would even let us think about bonding.

I lit the fireplace and did my best to recline comfortably in a chair without sliding onto the floor; it was almost embarrassingly hard to do and I knew exactly what the first thing I would need to do with Harry, neither one of us would be content to live the rest of our lives in half snake forms and showing him that I was capable of teaching him something without a single harsh word or glare would likely put me in his good graces.

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**Dumbledore POV**

The rage that filled me when I realized that Potter's stupid bird had managed to get rid of the letter within the Forbidden Forest before flying off to her master could not be described with words. I will not have my plans spoiled by anyone or anything. Everything I do is for the greater good and the sooner everyone else learns this; the better off they will be.

When I first visited St. Mary's orphanage I knew that young Tom Riddle would be one of the most powerful wizards of the age and I wanted to be the one to mould that power but he was much too willful even at that young age so I was forced to try to quell his power. I ignored the obviously poor care and sometimes vicious company he had during the summers and tried to limit his activities on school grounds. I had hoped that he would end up as a nothing more then a scholar and for much of his time at Hogwarts I thought that I had succeeded.

He was one of the most intelligent members of his year but he would never be found openly talking to any member of the student body and I foolishly believed that he had no friends to rely on. It was only during his last year that I found that every member of Slytherin held him in their highest regards and I could feel my plans unraveling. The war that followed was one of the worst that the wizarding world had ever seen and I kicked myself for not taking a more active role in his life.

That leads to young Harry; my chance at not only erasing my greatest mistake but also my chance at becoming the most powerful wizard in the world once more. I made sure that the 'prophecy' was overheard by young Severus but only the part that would send Tom into a rage while also making sure that the Potters used Peter as their secret keeper all to make sure that things went perfectly to plan and they unfolded flawlessly. The Potter's death was unfortunate but necessary to make sure that Harry would be properly molded. The Dursleys were all I could have asked for; their hatred of magic made them perfect for making very sure that Harry saw me as his own personal savior as well as making him unlikely to make any friends on his own. This allowed me to make sure that his friends were light-sided children that had the traits needed to make sure he stayed where I wanted him.

Ron was the first child that he needed to make sure Harry stayed ignorant and pliable. The boy was more then happy to make friends with the famous Boy-Who-Lived and had no idea that he was being used. With Ronald around Harry was sure to have no time to himself to study anything that was not completely necessary and the boy's natural jealousy kept Harry from being close friends with any of the other members of his house.

Granger was a fluke but ended up being a very fortuitous one. She is incredibly possessive and bossy enough to keep both of the boys on the straight and narrow without letting them learn anything on their own despite complaining about doing all the research on her own. None of the other member of Gryffindor could stand to be around her for long periods of time and that ensured that Harry had only those two to truly rely on.

The newest development hadn't been planned no matter how much I would like to be able to claim it. With Harry as a Lamia Tom would be hard pressed to stop himself from claiming the boy as a mate and when he did Harry would become his biggest weakness. The boy would likely be horrified to find himself essentially married to the man that killed his parents and would try to escape at the earliest opportunity which would land him right in my hands and all I would have to do to get rid of Tom would be to expose the boy as his mate and Fudge would no doubt have him put to death and I would be a hero again for helping dispose of yet another Dark Lord.

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**Review and let me know what you think.**


	7. A Taint

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**This story was an adoption from Dreamwind.**

**Its a lot harder to nurture and adopted bunny than one of your own.**

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**Hermione's POV**

I pulled at my hair in frustration as I pored over yet another book that didn't even give me the slightest clue as to what could reverse everything. The potion that we had been making in class wasn't even listed and the ingredients were so volatile that it shouldn't have even been possible to put them in the same potion. I have to find a way to fix this, Dumbledore is counting on me to make sure that Harry becomes human again. Harry has to be human to defeat Voldemort and make sure that I can do whatever I want when I graduate.

At first I didn't think that having friends would really help me in the long run, after all I never had any friends in primary and I did just fine, but when I heard how much the other students looked up to Harry and how every teacher other then Professor Snape seemed to make allowances for him I knew that I needed to be his friend. It was sheer luck when that troll cornered me in that bathroom and he came to my rescue with the Weasley.

Harry was alright to be around, he was easily distracted but his practical work was excellent and with him as my partner I didn't have to worry about how difficult it was for me. My magic didn't react nearly as well as his but he is the Boy-Who-Lived. Ronald on the other hand is one of the most annoying people that I have ever met and I wouldn't even talk to him if it wasn't for his pure blood. Even if the Weasleys were poor they had pure blood flowing through their veins and he was a good back up plan if Harry died killing Voldemort, after all the easiest way for someone to gain power is to marry someone powerful.

I sighed as I pulled another volume over and flipped the cover open, hopefully there would be something in this one to make my dreams come true and gain me the power that someone as intelligent as I am deserves.

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**Ronald's POV**

I thrust into Parkinson with a grunt as I felt her tighten around me and came with a growl; who knew that a Slytherin could be such a good lay. I rolled off and collapsed as she pulled herself from the bed and stretched. "Not bad for a Gryffindor, maybe this will end up as more then a one night thing if you can prove that you have the stamina." She smirked over her shoulder as she pulled her robes back on and left the Room of Requirement with a wink and a wiggle of her tight little butt that had me almost ready for another round.

Becoming Potter's friend was the best thing that ever happened to me hands down. Before him I was just the youngest boy of the Weasley family trying to live up to what my brothers had done before me but I was never good enough. I was thrilled when Mother told me that I was going to be the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived and it would be my job to make sure that he stayed away from the darker families. I became the friend of the Boy-Who-Lived and suddenly everyone knew who I was and it was something that none of my brothers could take away from me and now it allowed me to get into any girl's panties that I wanted. All of them were more then willing to spread their legs for the savior's best friend.

I can't believe that Granger put Harry in the hospital wing, Granger better hope that he comes out of this okay; I won't let anyone harm my ticket to the female population.

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**Pansy's POV**

I rushed to the shower the moment that I reached my prefect room and turned the shower on as hot as possible before throwing my clothes off and stepping into the spray with a contented sigh. I wanted to make sure that I washed all evidence of that filthy blood traitor off of me. This is the first time I have ever regretted obeying my father but if sleeping with the small dick Gryffindor would help get my father the information he wanted then it was more then worth it.

The idiot actually thought that someone like me would be attracted to a little no talent hack like him. He fell for the bedroom eyes and fluttering eyelashes like a fool and told me whatever I wanted to know to get me into the bed. He was one of the most self centered boys I have ever met and since I know Draco that's saying something, but at least Draco is handsome enough and powerful enough to deserve to be arrogant. Too bad he's one of the biggest fairies in the school, though seeing him with Blaise is more then enough to make up for it.

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**Harry's POV**

I woke up with a groan and rolled over slightly to find a note that had Severus' handwriting on the front; I would recognize his spidery writing anywhere. I opened it slowly and made sure to read every word carefully.

_Harry,_

_We decided that since you and I have fewer issues to work through that I would be the first to spend the day with you. I thought that it would be best if we spent the day learning more about our new forms and trying to make the transition between half-snake and human._

_This will also help me prove that there is more to me then the snide teacher that you are used to though I admit that that is a large part of who I am. I will expect you no later then ten._

_Severus_

The note certainly carried the man's no nonsense style and he was right about having fewer issues, it is going to be hard to separate Voldemort before and after. I looked up at the clock and noticed that I had two hours before Severus wanted me and a long bath sounds wonderful right now.

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**Severus' POV**

Waiting for Harry to wake up was one of the hardest things that I have had to do as I know that the Dark Lord will not give me unlimited time to have Harry to myself and I do not want to waste any of the time he decided to give me. The only thing that allowed me to leave the room after only leaving him a note for when he did awake was the fact that the boy desperately needed the sleep.

When Harry finally emerged from his room I had to take several deep breaths to force down my instincts before I was able to form a sentence. "The House Elves have made us quite the breakfast and it would be remiss to waste it. We will attempt the transformation after we finish." The House Elves had indeed gone all out. There were foods laid out on the table that even I could not name.

The meal was a quiet one as neither one of us knew enough about the other to make small talk and we are also not the type for completely idle chatter. I made a mental note of the foods that he seemed to gravitate towards and also took note of the fact that he hardly ate half of what a young man his age should be consuming.

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**Harry's POV**

You would think that after spending so many years in class with this man that I would at least know enough about him to talk to him somewhat casually, but I realized after I sat down that the only things that I really know about either of the men that want to become my mate is what other people have told me. I spent the majority of the meal trying to think of something to talk about or something to ask but everything I could think of were questions about things that you don't talk about over a meal. I ended up giving up and just enjoying the silence.

After breakfast was cleaned up by the House Elves we moved to the center of the room where two rather comfortable floor pillows sat facing each other in the sunlight that was beginning to pour in from the partially open window. "The first step toward learning how to transform from one form to another is to know the form that you are in completely. The best way to learn about what you are now is to meditate and find your body's knowledge of itself buried inside of your core."

Most of the morning was spent with Severus trying to get me meditating deeply enough to find my core and by the time I actually managed it the House Elves had brought lunch and we took a break. It was refreshing to have Severus teaching me something without degrading my father or telling me that everything that I am doing is wrong before he even checks it. He is actually a really good teacher and I can see how no Slytherin has ever failed Potions.

It took very little time for me to find my core again when we restarted and I practically fell into my core to find that while all the information about my other forms was there, there was something else there that made the scales on my arms raise. It was a taint that made bile rise to the back of my throat and the magical signature that accompanied it was one that I most definitely recognized.

I came back to the outside world to find that while I was gone Severus had entered a trance of his own and I didn't want to interrupt him so I carefully made my way to the window seat and looked out over the gardens outside. I need to find a way to remove that taint, it doesn't belong in me and I don't want any part of it. Severus is a Potions Master and while he also has his Mastery in Defense against the Dark Arts I doubt that he would know how to remove a taint this powerful. At least this will give me something to ask Voldemort that doesn't have to do with our rather unpleasant past.

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**Severus' POV**

It only took a split second after I came out of my meditation to realize that Harry was no longer in front of me. The panic rose in my chest until I spotted him looking out over the gardens with a look on his face I had come to recognize as the look he bore when someone had lied to him. I moved as quietly as possible but he still heard me and spun to face me as he covered up the look on his face with a smile that was clearly forced. "Did you manage to find out enough about your forms, Severus?"

The sound of my name pouring off of his lips was more than enough to distract me from the cause of the look on his face. "Yes, I managed to learn more than enough to manage the transformation and I assume that you did as well but it appears to be almost time to attend dinner with the Dark Lord so we'll have to finish this some other time." Harry nodded swiftly before he slithered into his room, no doubt to prepare himself to sit across from the man that had killed his parents. Hopefully he would tell one of us what was wrong before it eats him alive inside.

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Dinner was a highly uncomfortable affair to say the very least. It did not take a genius to figure out that the Dark Lord was not pleased that I had spent the entire day with Harry without him there to make sure that I did nothing. He practically radiated fury as he ate his entire meal without looking up at either of us once during the entire meal. Before he could no doubt flee the table, with dignity of course, Harry quiet voice drew both of our attention. "Voldemort, I need to talk to you about something really important. Would you please come back to my room with me before you go to bed?" You could almost see the amount of effort it took for the boy to keep his temper in check and to ask so politely.

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**Voldemort's POV**

I found myself beyond angry with the fact that Severus had had Harry with him for the entire day despite the fact that the monitoring charm that I set up in his room showed me that all they ended up doing was work on the transformation. By the time that I made it to dinner was so angered that I couldn't look at either of them and ate as quickly as I could before I stood to leave. I wasn't prepared for Harry to stop me before I made it to the door. "Voldemort, I need to talk to you about something really important. Would you please come back to my room with me before you go to bed?" I couldn't deny the request and followed the boy back to his room without saying anything.

The boy hardly looked at me as he immediately placed himself in front of his window and gripped the window frame with almost enough force to splinter the wood. "When Severus had me meditate to find my core earlier it wasn't the only thing that I found."

Harry looked at me with such fury in his eyes that I almost cast a shield charm before I realized that it wasn't directed at me. "There was a taint on my core that covered most of it, keeping it locked up. I don't know why it's there or who put it there but I have a good idea and I wanted to know if you could get rid of it for me."

I felt my magic bash against my skin as the anger soared. Putting a taint on someone's core would take an extreme amount of contact between the magic of the one manipulating and the one being manipulated. I sure that it was no doubt Dumbledore doing his best to make sure that his little boy hero was everything that he wanted him to be. Removing the taint would likely leave me physical and mentally exhausted but should elevate me in Harry's eyes, which is more than enough motivation for me. "I can remove it right now if the mood suits you." I waited for him to nod and then motioned him over to sit in front of me. "All you need to do is relax and allow me to fall into your core."

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The boy's core was something that I will never forget being able to view. Even with the taint covering most of it the core was still one of the largest that I had ever seen, the boy was far more powerful than even I had given him credit for.

The taint itself was definitely Dumbledore's doing, it stank with that old man's power and very few would condone such a horrible act. Corrupting the core of a minor could permanently disable whatever part of their core was covered; bloodline and magical gifts could be smothered while the child's true potential would fade into the unknown. It was used in ancient times as a way to bind criminals from doing any harm by blocking their magic's ability to use harmful spells altogether leaving them with very little other than the magic necessary to live on one's own and minor protection magic.

The taint fought just as stubbornly as the old man himself as I started carefully separating it from Harry's core, the slightest mistake could cost the boy part of his magic and that I would not allow.

It wasn't until a good portion of the taint was removed that I realized the reason the old man had done something so vile. The boy had a great well of power, but his power was not the bright light that everyone in the Wizarding World thought that it was. It was a swirl of light and dark that twirled effortlessly without the two ever mixing. The taint had been blocking off the entirety of the dark magic as well as the gifts that he was supposed to have grown into before he ever reached Hogwarts.

The boy had the gifts that one could expect from an heir of the Potter family of course, natural animagus, elemental magic of the wind variety and magical sight. There were also gifts that he could have only gotten from that godfather of his; metamorphangus, empathy, and a natural flare for Black Magic. Surprisingly enough there was no trace of his mother anywhere in his core; there should have been some feeling of her present in the boy even if she was a muggleborn.

I would like to follow that up and see if she has any hold on Harry but the taint was more than enough to leave me drained and it would do me no good to push my limits.

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	8. A Cute Dark Lord and a Grim Tale

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the original concept belongs to Dreamwind though my muses kind of went into left field with it.**

**Sorry for the wait but lately I've been working more than one close and open at my work, which leaves me with two hours of sleep if I'm lucky. I've pretty much mastered sleeping with my eyes open while standing up, so that's something, right?**

**Just so you know, I will almost never let Sirius die, he's one of my favorite characters and his death pretty much killed the series for me.**

**Harry's POV**

I could almost feel the exact moment that the taint on my magic was removed, it was like being stuck in a tiny little room and then walking into the sunshine. My eyes opened to find that Voldemort was leaning against the arm of one of the lounge chairs looking more than a little worse for wear. "That took a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I do believe that I am going to have to sit down a bit before I'm good for much else."

He looked almost ghostly as he somehow elegantly flopped into the rather comfy chair and leaned back with a sigh.

I moved over to the bed and slid onto it with the quiet sound of scales on satin and analyzed everything that I could remember. Ever since that accident in Potions nothing has made the slightest bit of sense but nothing feels out of place. I may not have been born a Lamia but the potion seems to have made it so much a part of me that I can hardly remember what it was like as a human.

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**Severus' POV**

Now I can fully understand why the Dark Lord could be so out of sorts about Harry spending any time alone with me. Even though I knew that Harry would not be open to anything that my mind supplied, the urge to enter his rooms and make sure that he was alright was almost overwhelming. Of course even if there was something going on there would be very little I could do about it other than get myself into more trouble than Harry manages in a school year.

I was so focused on the closed door between my room and Harry's that when it swung open to reveal a rather agitated Harry I admittedly jumped a bit, though in my defense it was a very small jump.

"Severus, Voldemort managed to exhaust himself helping me with my magic, could you help me get him to his room." Harry looked back into his room with a sigh. "He fell asleep in one of the chairs and if he stays like that there will be no dealing with him when he wakes up with a crick in his neck."

I found the curiosity almost blinding as I slithered over to the open doorway for the chance to see the Dark Lord in such a human position. It was incredibly humorous to see such a powerful man asleep in a chair with his head cocked to the side and one leg slung over the arm. I would almost venture to say that the man looked rather adorable but somehow it doesn't seem quite right to call one of the most terrifying men in the world 'adorable'.

"I'm not big enough to carry him but I can open the doors for you so we can get him back into his room." Harry slithered over to the chair and looked down at the Dark Lord briefly before turning his bright eyes on me. Somehow the slit pupils made puppy dog eyes twice as effective. "You have a lot more muscle on you than I do so you shouldn't have any trouble carrying him."

The man was heavier than he looked but was little trouble to carry, though the idea of having the Dark Lord wake up as I was carrying him to his room with Harry slithering in front was enough to make him feel twice as heavy as he should have. The entire manor was decorated in dark colors and the house elves could be seen moving quickly through the shadows, making sure that everything was as it should be without making the slightest bit of noise. For the home of a Dark Lord it was rather comfortable if somewhat cold.

The man's room was guarded by a very large and ornate door with so many serpents carved into the front you could hardly tell where one ended and another began. Every one of the serpents looked at us the moment we entered the hallway and kept their eyes on us as we came to a stop in front of them. "_What is the password?"_

"_We don't know the password, but we need to get in to put Voldemort to bed. You wouldn't want him to find out that he had to sleep on the floor because the enchanted door couldn't figure out that anyone who could speak to them was allowed in do you?" _It seemed a bit strange to watch Harry argue with a door but all of the snakes looked at each other before looking at the sleeping Dark Lord and swinging open with nary a sound.

The inside of the suite was predictably decorated in greens and silvers but was far more tasteful than some would think. The man's bed was more than big enough for several people and was draped in black silk sheets. The man didn't even shift as I laid him under the covers and both Harry and I left the room as quietly as we entered.

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**Sirius' POV**

"I'm sure that if something happened to Harry Dumbledore would immediately let you know even if there is nothing that you can do for him." Molly's voice was as shrill and spiteful as ever as she once more managed to make me feel like a failure. Her mission in life seems to be to make sure that I know that she has had more of a hand in my pup's life than I have. "Now, the drawing room still has several Dark objects in it so you could take care of that while I cook dinner."

It was harder than usual to hold in the sneer as I swept pass Mother's portrait and up the stairs to my room. There is no way that I'm going to obey the orders of a worthless little blood traitor like her. I never thought that I would use that term for anyone but there isn't a better one for a woman like that hag. She comes from a completely pureblooded line but she knows absolutely nothing about her family's history and she doesn't celebrate any of the traditional wizarding holidays, she sticks to the fluffy muggle holidays that Dumbledore favors. She ran her husband into the ground until it is honestly hard to tell that he is a man and she does it constantly in front of her children. Its really no wonder that all of her adult children lived as far away as they could possibly get.

Bill moved all the way out to Egypt to work as a curse-breaker for Gringotts and only came home on the holidays despite the fact the digs he worked on always had an open floo somewhere nearby. Charlie worked on a dragon reservation in Romania and ignored the open floos just like Bill, only he used the dragons as an excuse to only come home for one holiday a year. Percy worked at the Ministry and should have been able to visit home or even live at home with no problem but he used his busy job as an excuse to stay at the Ministry almost non-stop. The Twins were spending all of their time working in their shop, making new products and causing general panic. The only time the Twins came to Grimmauld was for the occasional Order meeting and to wreck havoc on the place in general.

The room that Dumbledore had confined me to was the same one that my father and mother shared for my entire childhood, they were one of the few pureblood couples that still shared a room after having an heir. The room was dark and depressing but there were a lot of fond memories of before I joined Hogwarts. I was the normal rebellious child but when I got to Hogwarts I wanted to be different, I didn't want to be the normal little heir that got into Slytherin and made the family proud. I already rebelled by making friends with James, but that wasn't enough so I forced the hat to put me in Gryffindor and became everything that my family didn't like. Now I would give almost anything to have my round-eyes little brother, proud father and overprotective mother back.

I stared at the canopy above the bed and started to plot. There had to be something up with Harry, every since I almost died the year before he had made very sure to write me almost every other day to let me know what was going on and to keep me from getting too lonely. He hadn't written in a week and no one would tell me what was going on, they just kept telling me that Dumbledore would tell me if something went wrong but the man hadn't even shown up to do his little weekly check up on the little escaped convict, had to make sure that I wasn't too far gone to be useful after all.

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	9. Snakes and Puppy Dog Eyes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the original thought came from Dreamwind though I have taken it quite far into left field.**

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**Harry's POV**

"I would like to ask you something a bit personal if you don't mind." Severus had followed me into my room and slid into a chair by the fireplace with very little trouble, though a couple of his scales snagged a bit on the seat.

"Not at all, we are supposed to be getting to know each other and so far the only thing we have done is sit in a room and meditate." I slid onto the edge of the bed and focused on the man that used to be one of the banes of my existence.

"Why is it that you just decided to go with this whole mate thing without so much as a tantrum, what reasons could you have for allowing the two men that made your life horrible to have a chance to mate with you for the rest of your life? If you go through with it you'll be stuck with the two of us for as long as we all live and no one really knows for sure how long that will end up being." Severus' voice was merely curious but there was a tension in his shoulders that wasn't there before.

"I am tired. I am tired of looking over my shoulder every time I'm not alone in a room or when I'm not in a locked room. I am tired of wondering when the next attempt on my life is going to happen or when the next time someone turns their back on me because of something I can't control or something in the Daily Prophet. You and Voldemort have been the two most constant factors in my life. Voldemort has always been honest in what he wanted whether its to kill me or to convert me to his side, he never coats things in pretty little lies. You never put any candy layers on your barbs or tried to make things sound better than they really were. Even though you treated me worse than most of your other students, Neville excluded, you never changed that behavior just because I could speak Parseltongue or the Daily Prophet decided to call me an attention seeking lunatic." I could feel the tension building in my shoulders as I thought of all the times that the other students turned their back on me for something stupid and out of my control.

"Dumbledore always coats his orders and his insults with pretty words and that grandfatherly look that just makes it that much more painful to hear and he plays of off guilt like a master without the slightest bit of remorse. Most of the other teachers just follow whatever orders he passes down like he's some kind of walking god without thinking about what's best for the students that they're supposed to be helping, House rivalries should have never gotten as bad as they have and the teachers don't even try to stop it. I just want the chance to be safe and comfortable for once in my life and it doesn't matter if it comes from the Light or the Dark side, they both have valid points and valid faults." I could feel the blood rushing to my face but I pushed the sensation back and plowed on without too much of a pause, if I stopped there's no way I would be able to continue. "Neither one of you are particularly bad looking either. Voldemort looks amazing since he go his old body back and you have to love those red eyes and I have always thought that you looked very regal, even more so now that your nose is straight again. Spending the rest of whatever life I have left with both of you would hardly be the end of the world."

"I suppose that makes sense, and I am grateful that it isn't just the pressure of the situation that made you agree to the whole thing though I doubt that being around the Dark Lord will ever be considered safe. He will never let go of his ideals but he guards whatever he considers his with almost unheard of determination. You will likely see the forefront of the war but with you at his side it will be far shorter and you will have the both of us there to make sure that nothing within our power to stop happens to you." Severus looked decidedly uncomfortable, which was rather adorable, not that I would tell him that. "Now, as we have a little bit of time before we should get to bed we can start properly learning how to shift forms."

{L}

**Voldemort's POV**

Messing with anyone's magical core is more than a little headache inducing though I can admit that I wasn't quite expecting my head to feel like someone had let loose with about fifty blasting curses the moment that my eyes opened. Even the little rays of light that penetrated my thick curtains was enough to make me wish that I was once more in the dungeons of Hogwarts where the only light came from charms that could easily be disabled. Of course the thought of the curtains brought up the issue of how I ended up in my room to begin with.

It couldn't have been Harry, he is more that strong enough magically to have floated me here but there was no magical residue coating my form so it would have to have been done physically. The only one in the manor that could have pulled that off without jarring me awake that wouldn't bulk at the very thought was Severus. The strength of his form was obvious and the grace that had been almost bred into him would have made the task much smoother. Harry would have had to convince him to do so as I am not known as the type to allow such a thing without some form of retribution though with Severus my hands are rather tied.

As a Naga he has first mating rights with Harry, their very genetics make it almost natural to complete such a bond. The very fact that he has managed to resist, even with the wards backing the resolve up, is a compliment to his will. I know that I would not be nearly as resilient in his place.

A short shower and change later saw me gliding down the hallway toward the dining hall, it was almost time for lunch and my body was more than happy to remind me that I had not been awake for breakfast. The sight that greeted me was one that I had not expected to see so soon.

Harry and Severus were already seated but it was more than a bit obvious that they had been very busy with their studies as they were both fully dressed, including pants. Of course that is not to say that they looked the same as they had before they were turned, it was actually quite the change. Severus still enjoyed the straightening of his nose and the additional bulk of his Naga form as well as a light sprinkling of scales around his neck and barely visible along his forearms. The most startling similarity was that his eyes still burned black.

Harry was an altogether stunning creature as he had kept the ivory color of his Lamia form as well as pearl tone scales around his eyes, neck and wrists that truly set his eyes aglow. His hair was a shock of ebony that fell to his waist with a tangle of waves that looked artfully designed rather than natural. He was altogether too edible to be allowed to mingle with the general populace though it would be impossible to convince him of that.

Their eyes focused on me the moment I stepped through the door before returning to their meal after a glance over that was obviously meant to make sure that I was healthy, in Harry's case, and not homicidal, in Severus' case. The meal itself was quiet but it was the comfortable silence that occurs when there simply isn't anything that needs to be said. Of course that only lasted until the House elves vanished the food and Harry turned to me with eyes that greatly resembled a kicked puppy.

"Would it be alright if Severus and I took a quick trip to Diagon Alley to pick up some things and get a little fresh air?" The kicked puppy looked intensified. "Dumbledore hasn't had enough time to let the Order know his version of events so they won't be actively looking for us and I need to get my shopping for Christmas done early before he does have the time."

"One cannot guarantee that the old man has not found a way to get the news to his underlings and what would happen if an Auror or a reporter spotted the two of you gallivanting down the alley during school?" I honestly tried to keep my voice firm but that look combined with the pout that he pulled off made it very hard to keep my composure.

"We look a lot different than we used to so most people wouldn't even notice us and the ones that do know us well enough to recognize us are either in Hogwarts or trapped in the Order Headquarters. We wouldn't be gone that long and I haven't had the chance to buy any of my gifts since the Hogsmeade weekend for it is two weeks from now, and with you around it was the only one they were going to let me go on and the whole staff was making sure that I didn't slip out on my own." Harry had leaned forward by this time and a small sheen of tears made his eyes almost glow.

There was no way that I was going to get out of this one. Severus looked as close to laughter as the man ever got and I felt a tick start above my right eye as I tried to out stare the pouting boy that was looking more forlorn by the second. "Alright, enough with the begging, you may go to Diagon Alley as long as Severus does not leave your side and you return in time for dinner."

The boy popped out of his seat with bright eyes and almost dragged the smirking Severus out of the room bodily. "Thank you! I promise that I'll be careful and get you something nice too."

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	10. Shopping & a bit off Kilter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the plotbunny belongs to Dreamwind.**

**Sorry for the long delay, I've been trying to buy a house for some time now and I finally made an offer and it was accepted. Hopefully soon I will have a house of my own and a lot less stress.**

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**Harry's POV**

Diagon Alley was every bit as packed as one would imagine so close to Christmas but it was awe inspiring to see how easy it was to navigate with a scowling Severus Snape with you. Even with the change in looks he still put off an amazing wave of what Ron used to call 'gitness' that made people almost literally jump out of the way to avoid making him focus on them. It's nice to not have that directed at me for once though I'm going to have to find some way to ditch him long enough to get him a present.

"I want to stop by Florish and Blotts first before I go anywhere else." He just nodded before turning to glare at a portly man that had the gull to bump into him, the man looked about ready to wet himself as he hastily apologized and scurried away. "Are you going to come with me or do you want to just meet up somewhere else?"

Severus gave me a look that clearly told me that he was not amused and crossed his arms over his chest. "Not only was I told to watch over you but there is little doubt in my mind that the moment that I left you to your own devices you would find some way to land yourself in an unimaginable amount of trouble. One wonders whether you go looking for the trouble or if it just finds you."

I couldn't stop the pout and barely stopped myself from stomping my foot, he would never let me live it down. "I do not go looking for trouble, it just really likes me."

"Yes, your school career certainly shows that to be the truth. Have you had one year that something that could have gotten you killed has not happened?" Severus raised his eyebrow in the same expression he has to have given me at least a hundred times.

"No, but I haven't managed to die yet and I'm not planning on dieing any time soon and especially not somewhere in Diagon Alley while shopping for Christmas presents." I almost felt like rolling my eyes, it's a good thing that I know better. "I will be perfectly fine on my own for the short amount of time it will take you to do your own thing and I promise that I will avoid any and all trouble until we both make it back to Tom's place." Can't really say Voldemort or the Dark Lord in Diagon Alley, though it might be a fun thing to try one day.

"Is there any particular reason that you are so desperate to get rid of me?" He was using his normal tone of voice but there was something about the way that he was holding himself that let me know that he was hurt.

"I don't want to be rid of you but I can't Christmas shop when someone I need a present for is with me." The atmosphere cleared almost immediately and a look I have never seen crossed Severus' face before he actually blushed! It is a memory that I will enjoy for many years I can tell you that now.

"Well then, I suppose that there are a couple of things that I can pick up and you can surely manage well enough on your own for an hour or two." Severus cleared his throat and looked to the side for a moment before his blush disappeared and he gave me a look that clearly said that his next words were to be listened to and obeyed. "We will meet at the Leaky Cauldron in two hours, no later than that or I will come looking for you."

"Two hours, got it." I almost pulled a salute before scurrying off to Florish and Blotts with him staring after me.

{L}

It was almost depressing to see how empty Florish and Blotts was this close to Christmas, but considering the fact that all of the Ravenclaws' parents had likely just purchased gift certificates, it wasn't all that surprising. I made my way to the specific books that I had come for and bought a certificate at the register before getting the clerk to shrink my bags with a well placed pout before rushing to the next store, I can't waste time with browsing or Severus really will tear the alley apart to find me.

{L}

The Cauldron was bustling with people huffing and puffing from their journeys through the alley hunting for the perfect gifts for the ones that they love by the time that I managed to finish up my shopping. There were a couple of people that I hadn't found the perfect gift for but I know they'll still love what I did find. After all, the Dark Lord is an incredibly hard man to shop for.

Severus was already waiting rather impatiently in the darkest corner of the room when I entered the Leaky Cauldron with about five minutes to spare. The other sparse patrons were all giving his corner a wide berth as any who got too close were given a glare he normally reserved for first year Hufflepuffs. It was nice to know that even with everything that's happened he's still the same man that used to send at least five first years to the infirmary each class.

He caught sight of me and raised his eyebrow in an expression I had seen many times before. "Have you completed your shopping?"

"I am as done as I am going to get and I have several catalogs just in case I remember something that I was supposed to get." I flashed him a grin and strode over to the apparation point before glancing over my shoulder. "We should probably get back before Tom paces a hole through whatever rug he happens to be on."

{L}

**Sirius' POV**

I slid along the wall as quickly and quietly as possible to avoid the harpy that has taken to watching me even closer than normal, probably worried that I was going to lose my mind and kill her in her sleep. The thought just may have crossed my mind a time or two. I need to get to the library and find a way to see my pup, he's mine and they won't tell me why he hasn't wrote or why I can't see him.

Dumbledore had finally shown his face and the only thing he told me was that Harry was indisposed by a minor accident in Potions and he wouldn't be able to come to Grimmauld for Christmas. If it was such a minor accident the hook-nosed git could have had him fixed in a minute, bastard that he is. There was something fishy going on and I am going to find Harry and fix it myself if it's the last thing I do.

{L}

The library was as dark and empty as ever with it's cobwebs and foreboding shadows. None of the Order members wanted to set foot in the library, there were too many dark books and artifacts lurking around the room for their comfort. The dark was something almost comforting after spending so much time here in my childhood and spending so much time in Azkaban. I could remember taking my early lessons in the library with my father going over each passage as many times as necessary and my mother hovering to make sure that none of the books reacted negatively, which was apt to happen when the book was feeling agitated. Regulus was just a toddler then and he would watch every movement with his too large eyes from the play pin that Mother would set just far enough away to protect him.

The Order had tried to get rid of the darker books in the library, but seemed to forget the true power behind the Black family. Most of the books were at least somewhat sentient and were more than capable of making their way back to the library if taken by a non-family member. Burning them was out too as they were all protected by wards against any kind of damage, though it had been funny to see the hag lit on fire after she had tried to burn a book on Blood Rituals. Sure one of these books would have something in them that would get me to my Harry without the old fool being any the wiser.

{L}

**Remus' POV**

"There is something very wrong with that man." It was aggravating to hear the redheaded mother insult Sirius, but with Dumbledore's various threats hanging over my head I didn't really have the option to tell her where she could stuff it. "He wanders around here like some sort of ghoul and refuses to do anything to make this place any less gloomy. The only time he says anything at all its some complaint about wanting to see Harry."

"Now, now Molly. Sirius has had quite the run of bad luck and I'm sure he will get better." Dumbledore was being his normal self, twinkle and all, though there was something in the way he smelled that made Moony very uncomfortable, or at least more than usual. "Its unfortunate that he won't be able to see Harry during the holidays, but hopefully we can get him to the station to see Harry off for the summer and let them catch up a couple of weeks before school."

"Something has to happen soon Headmaster, the house is only getting worse and that man just skulks around and disappears into the library and I won't have my children around him." The woman seemed only slightly mollified, but it was obvious that the would be the last complaint she had for a while at least.

{L}

"Looks like the she-demon was actually telling the truth." I looked around at the gloomy looking shelves before looking at Sirius' hunched form. "Are you looking for anything in particular or are you just trying to drive Molly up the wall?" Either one was likely.

Sirius didn't even look up from the book he was staring at to answer. "I want my pup. That daft old fool thinks that he can fool me with his little lies but my pup hasn't written and he always writes at the end of the week. There's no way that a simple little 'accident' would keep him from writing and that old bat would fix Harry up in no time, even if he is a git."

I couldn't help but sigh as I slid into the seat across from Sirius. "Even if Dumbledore is lying and something really is seriously wrong with Harry, he won't let you into Hogwarts to see him."

Sirius still wouldn't look up at me. "I don't think that he's even in Hogwarts anymore. There's something about the way the old coot is acting that tells me that he doesn't have Harry under his thumb anymore. If Harry has been taken somewhere else I am going to find him and make sure that he's safe and happy. I promised James that I would take care of him and I haven't done such a wonderful job so far. You can either help me find him or leave me alone."

"Of course I'll help you find him, he's my pup too."

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**Review and let me know what you think. I left Sirius a little 'touched', you can't be perfectly fine after Azkaban.**


	11. Call of the Blood

******Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Sorry for the wait, as usual real life loves getting in the way.  
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**Harry's POV**

I actually managed to keep a straight face when Severus and I came through the door to find Tom was actually pacing rapidly across the room. He stopped within moments of the door opening but not quite fast enough to keep me from knowing exactly what he had just been doing. "Did anyone notice who you were and did the trip take care of everything that you needed to do?"

"We were both fine and got everything that we needed, including a couple catalogs just in case we forgot something." Resisting the urge to giggle was harder than I thought it would be when he shifted, probably realizing how he sounded. "No one even looked our way twice."

"Good." Tom slipped closer to the door before glancing at Severus. "We have plans to go over and the masses need to be informed of what its necessary for them to know. Harry, will you be fine on your own for the length of the meeting, or would you prefer for me to summon someone to keep you company?"

I couldn't quite keep from scoffing at the very thought. "No thanks, I would rather not have some terrified Death Eater standing stiffly in the room with me for however long you both are gone. I'll probably just get some studying in and practice changing forms."

{L}

**Sirius' POV**

"This is Blood Magic Siri. Not only is it highly illegal, but it requires the blood of a living relative to even work and I highly doubt that Petunia is going to willingly give blood to find Harry." Remus doesn't believe that it will work but it has to.

"It will work, all pureblood families are related anyway and James' mother was a Black too." I placed the candles and started on the runes and circle. "I have to find him and this is the only way to do it without his blood or something that belongs to him and Dumbledore isn't going to let me borrow any of his things to find him."

Remus looked like he was going to complain again before he just sighed and corrected one of the runes that was a little off. "If you are so determined to try this the least I can do is make sure that you don't take the entire house down in the process." It felt good to have Remus helping me with one of my crazy plans just like before, if only James was here to help me come up with my crazy plans again.

{L}

**Harry's POV**

Who would have thought that the home of the most powerful Dark Wizard in the world could be so utterly boring. There were only the books to keep me company and I almost wish that I had agreed to having a Death Eater summoned to keep me company, even if they would have just stood stiffly in the center of the room. Most of the books in the room were ones I had already read and the transformations were already as easy as breathing. If it wasn't for the chance of running into a random Death Eater that didn't know not to attack me on sight I probably would have already went in search of something mildly entertaining to do.

I was passing by the fireplace for the sixty-sixth time when the oddest feeling passed from the top of my head all the way down to the tip of my big toe. It felt a little like there was something in my blood that was calling out to someone, somewhere. The first thing that ran through my mind was that Dumbledore was using some kind of magic to find me, but that didn't explain why my blood was so intent on being found. It almost felt like something in my blood wanted to be found, that that would make everything better or that I would be safer.

I slipped into my lamia form and headed through the door to find Tom or Severus. Hopefully the Death Eaters were smart enough not to attack a lamia wandering around the home of the last descendant of Slytherin. Of course, that doesn't mean that either man will be happy to see me roaming the halls but they would be even more upset if it is Dumbledore and I don't tell them about it.

**Dumbledore's POV**

I mixed the blood with the necessary potion and watched the runes light up with a sense of satisfaction. Soon I will know where the little snake is and my plans will be right back on track. It wasn't easy to convince that little conniving muggle to give up some of her blood but a little money and the promise that she would never have to see Harry again were more than enough incentive to get what I wanted. The best part was that there was nothing that the muggle could do to make me carry through with my promise, after all, she was just a muggle and I am the most powerful wizard of the age.

"Where are you, you little brat? I need to bind you to my little mistake and claim back all the power that I lost because of that fool Minister."

{L}

**Harry's POV**

The feeling only seemed to grow as I sped down the empty corridors looking for anyone at this point. It was a maddening feeling and it was only growing. Tom or Severus would be able to make it stop and at this point that's all I care about. I don't want to know what's causing it or whom, it just has to stop before my blood actually leaves my body to look for the source.

I hardly noticed the dark form in front of me as I brushed past it and continued on my way without a second glance. It wasn't who I was looking for and that was all that mattered right now.

{L}

**Remus' POV**

The runes gave out a bright glow as the spell started to take effect and I tried and failed to keep my hopes of finding Harry through this ritual from growing. This ritual always looked the same through the first couple of stages. The only way you knew if it was working was the sudden knowledge of the person's location at the end, if it failed the caster normally ended up with one hell of a headache as you were suddenly bombarded with the locations of every single member of the family whose blood you used was shoved into your brain. Even if it worked it was known to be rather painful. Siri is going to be in a horrible temper if it doesn't and he just gets the location of his family.

The last stage of the ritual arrived with a light that had me shielding my eyes and wishing that I didn't have the extra eyesight of a werewolf to make this whole thing more painful. Siri let out a whimper as he dropped to the ground clutching his head and I made my way forward with the pain potion and a bottle of fire whiskey, just in case.

He accepted the potion but didn't reach for the whiskey. "It worked Moony. I know where Harry is."

{L}

**Harry's POV**

The moment that I finally had both Tom and Severus in my sights my blood gave out an almighty thump and black spots filled my vision. Everything started to spin and I couldn't seem to focus on anything. I heard Tom and Severus but the meaning of their words escaped me. The last thing I saw was the two men racing toward me as I collapsed.

{L}

Somewhere in Scotland, in a location unknown to all without magical blood, there arose a sound that most would describe as akin to a dying cat, or something equaling unnerving. A certain phoenix watched the origin of the noise from his perch, almost dreading the knowledge that the old man currently writhing on the floor might gain from this madness.

All across the castle students and teachers alike jerked and gazed frantically around them to try to find the cause for not only the sound but also the stirring of old dark magic that chilled their cores. Most muggleborns whimpered and curled slightly to ward off the chill and many halfbloods did the same. Purebloods, excluding a certain redhead, gazed warily around as they recognized the feel of forbidden magic. A certain group of Slytherins gazed directly at where the source would have to be and began to plan the letters that needed to be sent immediately, they knew that nothing good could come of the 'Light Lord' breaking out that kind of magic in middle of the afternoon.

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**Review and let me know what you think.**


	12. Blood To Blood

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the original plot of this story was adopted by Dreamwind, it's taken on a life of its own now.**

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**Harry's POV**

My head felt like there were about twenty little dwarves with pickaxes mining for gold nonstop. Even the thought of opening my eyes made my head give out a terrible thump but I could faintly hear Voldemort issuing orders and something told me that things would be much better for everyone in the room if I opened my eyes and made him slow down.

The room was packed with people, it looks like I managed to interrupt the meeting about right in the middle since it looked like all the Death Eaters were still here and most of them looked terrified of their Lord as he managed to bark out orders and glare at everyone at the same time. Half of them breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of me and stopped talking to lean down and place his hand on my head. "What happened to you?"

I pulled myself up and blushed slightly as I realized that my head was in Severus' lap. "I don't know, I was pacing in my room trying to figure out something to do while I waited when it felt like my blood was trying to find someone, it kept pounding through my veins like wildfire and I tried to get to you before it did whatever it was trying to do. I barely remember seeing you before everything went black."

"Master, I believe that I know what happened." The death eater that approached was one that I could've recognized even if he had been wearing the trademark mask. Lucius looked every bit as prim and proper as he had at the Ministry but there was something about him that seemed a touch different, or at least familiar. "What the young lamia described sounds like the reaction of the target of an old Black Family ritual." His eyes slid over me and I knew that he had no idea who I was. "The ritual is used to find a member of the family that is lost, normally by a father or a mother. Judging from his reaction to the magic, his own magic wished to be found by whoever was looking. Narcissa used this ritual to find Draco when he was taken for ransom when he was five. He described a similar feeling when we found him."

Judging from the scowl on Severus' and Voldemort's faces they had reached the same conclusion that I had. Dumbledore had managed to get Sirius to find me for him or Sirius was going to be showing up really soon on his own, either way things are going to be interesting to say the least.

**Dumbledore's POV**

It just wasn't possible; all the texts said that there was no way to hide from this blood ritual. It should have given me the boy's location, not the location of every muggle even slightly related to that horse faced woman. The tomes in the Black Library had been positive on the fact that no ward could hide from the blood. The only way it wouldn't work was if the blood wasn't of a relative, but Petunia was Lily's sister, the ritual should have worked. Damn that boy, I'm going to find him and make him pay for making me look like a fool and for this twice damned headache.

**Sirius' POV**

"We have to go find him Moony." I couldn't stay still; there was so much to pack and so little time to do it in. What if Harry's hungry? What if he needs something to wear or he gets bored?

Moony tried to slow me down but I couldn't let him do that. We have to hurry or the hag might tell the old man that we're up to something and they would try to keep me imprisoned here and away from my pup. "He's nowhere near Hogwarts Moony, he's somewhere in Wales under some heavy duty wards but they can't hide him from me. We have to go make sure that he's okay and then if he's safe there we can stay with him, Dumbledore won't be able to find us there."

"You need to slow down and think things through a little bit first Padfoot. Harry should be in Hogwarts right now, if he isn't then he might have been kidnapped and whoever he's with won't just let you walk in the front door. We should tell the Order so we'll have backup." Moony was still standing in the same place that he had during the ritual with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Harry is doing just fine. The ritual tells you not only where they are but how they're doing so you know if you need to hurry to their side or not. His heart rate was a little slow but that could just be that he was sleeping or relaxing. Wherever he is they are at least taking care of him." I finished packing everything that I could without leaving the room and having that woman berate me or get suspicious, or at least more suspicious than she already is. Hopefully my pup doesn't need anything that I can't think of right now, without full control of all of the Black assets I can't completely reset the wards to kick them all out and come back without a trip to Gringotts first.

"Alright Padfoot, we will go see if Harry is alright but we have to be careful. You're still a wanted man and if he is being held against his will the people that took him won't be happy to see us just popping up unannounced at their doorstep."

I couldn't quite keep the grin off my face nor could I stop the laugh as Moony backed up with a nervous look on his face. "Oh, we won't be arriving on their doorstep; the ritual also allows me to apparate within only a few feet of Harry if used shortly after the ritual."

**Harry's POV**

"My Lord, we may have a problem if someone has used that ritual to find the young lamia." Voldemort glanced at Lucius with a look that clearly told him to get to the point as quickly as possible or suffer his wrath. "The ritual also allows the caster to arrive within a couple of feet of the intended target with a single guest if they do so within an hour of the ritual."

I stared at Voldemort as a tick started to develop and a look at Severus showed the exact same thing. Voldemort seemed to gather himself for moment before he stood and looked at his assembled followers. "All new recruits and Outer Circle Members are to immediately return home." There was a symphony of pops as his orders were immediately obeyed and the room emptied until only his most powerful were left in the room. "I will need you to be ready for whosoever comes. Do not attack without my order."

The air vibrated with tension as the minutes ticked by, Voldemort helped me off the floor with help from Severus and backed up just enough that if someone did come he wouldn't end up in the wrong place but close enough to put them down if necessary. There was no warning before they appeared with a pop though it was obvious that the Death Eaters now wished that they hadn't been ordered to not attack the arrivals on sight.

"Pup!" Sirius was every bit as loud and energetic as usual as he managed to completely ignore the fact that he was in a room filled with people that would probably love nothing more than to maim him as well as the fact that I was a snake hybrid that no one else seemed able to identify on sight. He rushed right up and managed to twirl me around three times before an extremely pale Remus pulled him back with shaky hands. "Why are you a snake pup?"

"Of course it would have to be the mutt duo; I almost wish it was the old fool." Severus sneered at both of them and somehow managed to maneuver himself between Sirius and myself.

"Well, Lord Black, you have managed to find my castle and infiltrate it rather handily. Should I expect the full might of the Order of the Phoenix to be brought down upon my head before or after dinner?" Voldemort looked somewhere between amused and exasperated.

"No, the old codger wouldn't tell me where my pup was at, he tried to tell me that nothing was wrong but my pup never forgets to write." Sirius looked around for a moment before locking his eyes on me. "Don't do anything by halves do you pup?"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Sirius may be a bit cracked, but he deals with strange better than anyone else, which is good since I seem to draw it no matter what I do. "So, the old man is trying to pretend like nothing happened and that I am still firmly under his thumb."

"My Lord?" Most of the Inner Circle looked somewhere between confused and frustrated but Lucius looked more horrified than anything else. "The young Lamia is Mr. Potter?"

The confusion turned to horror as most of the Death Eaters looked like someone had told them Santa wasn't real. I suppose it would be difficult to see someone you had considered the weapon of the other side as a symbol of your own cause. They recovered fairly quickly though, a little too quickly for my peace of mind.

"It appears that I won't need you to take down the old fool, you may return to your homes until called." All but Bellatrix obeyed the order.

"I would like to offer my apologies for what happened at the Ministry." She locked eyes with Sirius and then was gone in a flash.

"She seems a lot… better than she was before." Remus looked awfully uncomfortable but curious.

Voldemort seemed less than likely to answer so Severus looked toward the ceiling for a moment before refocusing on Remus, ignoring Sirius completely, which is probably a good thing. "She may be touched and more than a little cruel but she is a pureblooded witch raised to be a Lady. She attacked her birth family's Lord and almost managed to kill him. If she succeeded I have no doubt that she would have lost what little sanity she had left, but just almost killing him brought her back to her senses rather soundly."

"That's really very nice but how did my pup end up as a snake?" Sirius had his arms crossed and was glaring at one of the most powerful men in the world along with Severus.

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**Review and let me know what you think.**


	13. Revelation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the original plot was adopted from Dreamwind.**

**A bit shorter than usual but I wanted to get what I had out.**

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**Harry's POV**

"It's Hermione's fault really." I couldn't quite keep the exasperation out of my voice and both Remus and Sirius looked more than a little confused, Hermione and the kind of mishap that causes a species change don't normally end up in the same thought process. "We were making a potion to change the user into their animagus form and we were right at the part where we were supposed to add a single, small sliver of snake heart and she was so busy staring at Ron flirting with Parkinson that she flipped out completely when I tried to get her attention." I could practically see the way that her hair had frizzed out when she yelled at me. "She yelled that she didn't care about the stupid snake heart and threw the whole thing into the cauldron, I don't remember much after that."

Severus sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The mudblood banshee didn't just throw the whole thing into the cauldron but hadn't even cleaned the blood off so she added two ingredients, one that wasn't even supposed to be in the potion at all. After the potion went critical Harry pushed her out of the way, almost a shame really, and it exploded right as I managed to reach their table and place a ward to contain the explosion. Harry and I were covered in the botched potion that did not work as one would expect."

Remus looked between Severus and me with what I like to refer to as his Professor look. "It seems obvious that Harry was transformed by the potion into a snake hybrid, a lamia most likely, but other that some small changes to some of his features it doesn't seem to have done much to Snape."

Severus rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose again, which drew Remus' and Sirius' attention to the fact that it wasn't crooked anymore. "I was also changed into a snake-like creature however I was able to transform into a more human form this morning. Harry was still sleeping when you decided to break all of the Light side's rules about dark magic to find him."

Both Sirius and Remus looked at me and I could practically feel Sirius' curiosity. "If you can change back to a human, why are you still a snake, pup?"

I could feel the blood rushing to my face and tried not to look at Severus or Tom. "I can't turn back here."

Remus seemed to catch on with the way that he suddenly looked very uncomfortable, but Sirius just cocked his head to the side like a confused puppy, pun intended. "Why not?"

"I can't transform my clothes with me." It was a good thing that Sirius wasn't looking at Tom or Severus; their leers would not have gone over well. Luckily my suddenly red face was put down as only being due to the whole no clothes thing.

{L}

"Why did the ritual you used allow you to find me and would Dumbledore be able to use it to find me here too?" It took almost a half hour of pleading to get Tom and Severus to let me talk to Remus and Sirius alone in my room.

Sirius smirked and leaned back in the bright red and gold chair he had conjured. He blatantly refused to sit in a 'Slytherin' chair. "The old coot would have to have some of my blood to find you and I'm a bit out of reach of him now."

"Wouldn't Petunia's blood work just as well?" It probably wouldn't be hard for the old man to get Petunia to give blood, all he would have to do is promise that he wouldn't send me back to her perfectly normal house.

Remus looked at Sirius with the same look he got when he was trying to think of the best way to teach a class about something really difficult. "Theoretically it should work with Petunia's blood, and Dumbledore has access to the Black Library so he might be able to find you as well."

"He won't be able to use that ritual to find you." Sirius looked completely sure of himself, a little too sure for my peace of mind.

"How can you be so sure that he couldn't use the same ritual? All he needs is the blood of a relative and I'm sure that he could bribe her to give some up."

Sirius looked a bit uncomfortable before he seemed to gather himself and straightened in his chair. "Lily was barren."

I had heard how people could sometimes get the feeling of falling without actually falling but this was the first time that I had actually experienced it. It was like the ground opened up and I fell into an alternate dimension. "What do you mean? Everyone tells me how I have her eyes and that her and Father were together from Hogwarts on."

Remus looked every bit as confused as I know that I do. "I remember watching as Lily started to grow large with child and I remember waiting in the hospital when she had Harry."

Sirius looked more than a little bit guilty. "James and Lily wanted children more than anything else in the world and when they found out that she wasn't able to have them they were both completely shattered. James drank himself into a complete stupor, that's probably the only reason that I found out about the whole thing. Adopting a child was out of the question with how closely all of the stuffy purebloods were watching their marriage with James being a pureblood and Lily being a muggleborn. If they weren't able to produce an heir it would be like proving those jerks right about it being a bad match. I couldn't let my best mate suffer like that without at least doing everything I could to help."

I could see a light flicker on in Remus' eyes. "Whose blood did you use?"

Sirius wouldn't look at either one of us. "Jamie didn't want to bring in anyone that didn't already know about the whole thing so I found a couple rituals in the Black Library when mother was out to transfer a child from one person into another without harming the child or either of the carriers. We figured that we would have to make up a story about Harry inheriting Black features from his grandmother but we didn't have to do anything when he came out with green eyes. We figured that they came from being exposed to Lily's magical signature throughout the pregnancy."

I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate. "You…not Lily…my mother…didn't tell me…I…" Everything went black.

{L}

**Hermione's POV**

For once in my life I can't find the answer in a book. There isn't anything in any of the books in the library that says a single thing about the potion we were brewing or a way to reverse the effects of something being added to it. How am I supposed to figure out how to fix this mess if there isn't a book on it to give me the answer?

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**Review and let me know what you think.**


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